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Is anyone else really encouraged

I don't feel like our football team played up to is potential this year and we are still going bowling in year one of the Rhoads Era. That is a very encouraging thing. We battled injuries to key players all year long and still found a way to go bowling. It goes to show how quality of staff that Rhoads put together. Great things are on the horizon for Cyclone Football. Everyone talks about how tough our schedule is next year but I really think it sets up to give us a serious chance at the Big 12 North title. We get Nebraska, KU, and Mizzou in Jack Trice. We also get K-State in Arrowhead. 5-3 will win the North most likely, history has shown that. If we somehow find a way to sweep KU, NU, and Mizzou at home and beat K-State in Arrowhead it would only take a win at Colorado to get to 5-3 in the conference. Definitely a possibility.

Re: Is anyone else really encouraged

Well 6-6 is encouraging in itself. What is really encouraging is that we could have been 8-4 or 9-3. We were competitive in every game but three. We didn't allow offenses to totally kill us. By that I mean hangin 50 on us. I felt every team in our conference that we played had more physical talent than us and yet we beat a few of them. The way this class is shapin up I cannot wait to see what lies ahead. I would also say if you weren't encouraged from this year, your expectations are way to high and you need to re-evaluate.

Re: Is anyone else really encouraged

I'm very encouraged overall with CPR. I don't think we played up to our potential offensively, but that's not too uncommon with a brand new offense. Even though it's similar to our past O, you have different terminology, etc.

Defensively, I do think we played pretty close to our potential. We weren't great on D, but we did enough to win 6 games, and could have won a couple others.

We didn't really have much talent on D this year, so this bodes well for the future, IMO.

Re: Is anyone else really encouraged

Not to mention...

We had two brand new systems installed this year. In some cases, this was the third offensive system that some of the players had played in four years. Confusion was bound to happen.

The offense was never fully healthy all year. The receiving corps was pretty much gutted from the beginning, with it appearing like SedJ and Darks were nagged with injury all year, and Money broke his leg just when he was beginning to show us his promise. ARob gets hurt during the Army game and we missed out on big time minutes in both the K-State and Kansas games which could have been the difference in both games. Arnaud broke his hand during the Baylor game, with which he missed several games, affected the way he threw the ball for the rest of the year, and curbed his further development in Herman's system. Not to mention the offensive line battled injuries as well. Granted, every team has to deal with injuries and it's a part of the game, But I felt like the offense wasn't able to catch a break all year, at least when it came to injuries.

The defense, for the lack of talent/depth/whatever you want to call it up front, with the exception of the aTm game, actually played pretty well and improved throughout the year, at least when they weren't being hung out to dry by the offense time and time again. They played exceptionally well in the first half of almost every single game they played this year. But as the disparity in ToP grew and the ISU defense spent more and more time on the field, they got worn down. Often times the disparity in ToP was greater than 10 minutes - that's the offense hanging the defense out to dry.

Keep in mind this is a team that most experts nationally didn't think would win 4 games this season. In fact, I think most of them thought we'd do another 0-fer in the Big 12 again. Instead, we won 6 games, 3 of which were in the Big 12, one of which not only ended a lengthy Big 12 road losing streak, not only ended a road losing streak at Lincoln which extended some 30 years, but was at the place of the eventual North champions, which was one second and one foot away from being conference champions.

I hardly think this team has arrived. In retrospect, 6-6 is a little disappointing because with different outcomes in the injury front all year, we could have won against K-State, Kansas, and Missouri and gone 9-3, and we would have been the ones playing in Dallas against Texas playing for a spot in the Fiesta Bowl. However, it's impossible to be even mildly disappointed with the outcome of this season, considering expectations were so low going into the season. A big part of the reason for this season was coaching, and I definitely think we're headed in the right direction, even if we do take a step back next year (that schedule is BRUTAL). It'll be interesting to see if CPR can take us to heights that Coach Mac couldn't - regular 8-9 wins, 10 wins every so often, and maybe even the holy grails of the Big 12 championship game and maybe even a BCS game.

Chuck Lidell: I paint my toenails with pink and black polish. Problem is, I get more paint on my toes and on the carpet than on my nails. Any advice?Maria Sharapova: Don't you beat up other guys for a living? I don't know how to answer this.

Re: Is anyone else really encouraged

The most encouraging thing is that we've done it without the talent that other schools have to draw from. Schools like Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska tend to have easier times recruiting top players due to their winning reputations, and we're starting to build a reputation as a passionate program with a fan base that's on the rise, which may start attracting better players who aren't necessarily looking specifically for a national champion quality team.

Re: Is anyone else really encouraged

It's amazing what Rhoads and his staff have done. I thought we could get to 6-6 but I didn't see it happening the way it did.

When we lost to Iowa 35-3, it would have been easy for the team to quit believing in themselves. We had just broken a ten game losing streak, and the first good team we played blew us out. Instead of throwing in the towel, we went on the road and ended our long road losing streak. That's something a lot of ISU teams wouldn't have done.

Then we had some injuries and started 0-2 in conference play. A lot of past ISU teams wouldn't have recovered, but this team bounced back and won two straight, including one at Nebraska.

Even after getting blown out the next two weeks, we still managed to get that sixth win. Amazingly, this team could have possibly won more games (Kansas State, Kansas) if they were more mentally used to winning. As we get better talent and more used to winning, this program can really take off.

The recruiting has also been very impressive. If Hollis has indeed committed, it means that all but one official visitor has committed to Iowa State. That means we're targeting and getting the recruits we want, and most of them are three stars.

Re: Is anyone else really encouraged

PR and company have brought excitement back to ISU football, and I agree we haven't played our best game yet. I think we will in Phoenix as long as AA is healthy and plays well, and we know he is capable of being a very good qb, he just hasn't been for much of the season due to injury and learning the new system.

Re: Is anyone else really encouraged

Originally Posted by jdoggivjc

It'll be interesting to see if CPR can take us to heights that Coach Mac couldn't - regular 8-9 wins, 10 wins every so often, and maybe even the holy grails of the Big 12 championship game and maybe even a BCS game.

that exactly right. this is the best coaching staff i have seen to get us to that point, and the best recruiting as well. maybe not next year (personally if we go 6-6 next year i'll be estatic), but i think this staff can accomplish those goals more than any other staff in isu history.

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